Soundtap Madness 2013 begins today, April 1st! WOBC will compete in a bracket against college-affiliated radio stations across the country. Register for Soundtap today and begin listening to WOBC through Soundtap!

You know, I sure do appreciate it when people go out of their way in order for others to have fun. Like the good residents of 123 South Professor St., and all those at WOBC behind this semester’s iteration of the station-led bash. On a typical Oberlin Saturday night, the party provided some key attractions that made it a so-called “success.” But I really gauged the success of it thanks to a quote from a good friend: “Man, that party was the best! My boyfriend and I hooked up with so many people!”

So to come back the next morning and help clean up a bit? Sure, why not. I mean, it’s the least I could do.

But arriving at SoPro that Sunday morning pre-hangover, I was surprised to see the place looking quite commendable. The inside of the house was pretty much done, so I took to the porch, where I separated glass bottles from cans. The clinking and crashing of bottles and cans in the numerous plastic bags proved therapeutic to my ears, as did the strange odors emitting from the mass of finished and unfinished beers. I then proceeded to “hose down” the porch, which mainly turned out to be me flooding one area of the porch and kind of giving up on the rest. I kicked the puddle around and spread the water around, thus deeming the porch ‘clean’. Then I picked up some soggy cigarette butts. Probably should’ve cleared those before the hose, right? As I walked through the backyard to put the hose away, I noticed mud and grime caking the bottom of my pants and white Converse. It made me feel dirty, and I like feeling dirty. It made me feel real, like I was actually doing something, like feeling the consequences of hard work and stuff. Some pretty powerful feelings at 123 So Pro that faithful Sunday morning.

Moral of the story? Don’t underestimate the power of the post-party, morning after clean up. Or alternatively, a question for all of us to think about – does Oberlin need to go harder and messier at parties?

Record producer, music researcher, and writer Ian Nagoski specializes in early 20th century recordings in languages other than English. In the past five years, he has produced collections for the Dust-to-Digital, Tompkins Square, Important, and Em record labels, as well as his own Canary imprint (manufactured and distributed by Mississippi Records of Portland, OR). In the past 12 months, he has produced six new LPs of music from India, Anatoalia, Greece, the Levant, and Eastern Europe, as well as a “global view of the rise of rock n roll, 1942-61.”

His new lecture, titled The Widow’s Joy: Pride, Genius, Grief & Lies from International 78rpm Recordings, seamlessly presents recordings from the the mid-1910s to 1950 across a wide geographic area. Musicians, famous and obscure, “classical” and “folk” alike are presented side-by-side as Nagoski describes one life after another of a creative person whose biography was marked by displacement, tragic circumstance, great opportunity, and forces of history beyond their control. In the process, Nagoski shares rarely-heard and deeply touching performances, some joyous and some heartbreaking, while asking questions about the value of life and meaning of music.

“Like [Harry] Smith, Nagoski is a Walter Benjamin visionary, using his collection of 78s to hallucinate a history that actually happened but which remains hidden beneath official dogma and nationalisms.” – Marcus Boon, the Wire

“I was entranced. I was FASCINATED.” – Henry Rollins, KJFC

“his work is so rare and important that it should almost be treated as a ritual object, a pathway to the past and a voice for ghosts of a forgotten part of American musical history… He is not an academic, but a street corner preacher. His milieu is probably a bar or rock club as much as it would be behind a lectern, but that’s the point of someone like Ian. His work lives in two places at once: in the mind of the academic and in the heart of the public. For that reason alone, he is special.” – Nate Wooley, Sound American

“work of great beauty.” – Jace Clayton, DJ /rupture, WFMU

“It’s almost in a mystical way. He’s not just talking about: ‘Here’s this item I own.’ When he talks about or writes about these items, they’re discs that can really transport you.” – Ben Chasney, Six Organs of Admittance

“as essential to an understanding of American music as anything else.” – Amanda Petrusich, Pitchfork

“a beautiful and labyrinthine Americana, one that stretches confines of the definition of the word itself.” – Thom Jurek, AllMusic

On Saturday April 27th from 1-4pm WOBC is hosting our annual block party in Park Street Park! (Potential rain date Sunday April 28th)

This year we’d like to host a record sale and flea market and we’re calling all music enthusiasts and eccentric collectors to help us. We need vendors! If interested, contact outreach@wobc.org.

The block party will also feature a 3 vs. 3 basketball tournament, four-square, performances and DJ sets by local artists, food trucks, and an open chess tournament. To register as a basketball team, just email outreach@wobc.org.

The block party is free and open to everyone so please do come out for a day of family fun in support of your local radio station.